I Want to Live
by Dragon and Sword Master
Summary: Due to the choices she made after the fall of Beacon, Blake wonders what to do from here and goes to the one person she believes who can help: her mother's grave (Story created before Kali was introduced)


Dragon and Sword Master: Hello again, just wanted to post something real quick here. I've been listening to the new Skillet CD, _Unleashed_ and when I first heard this song (which is the story's title) my mind instantly went to Blake. So without further ado…

Blake: …this song sounds like a great set up for Tauradonna…Ryu, don't tell me you plan on pairing me back up with my abusive ex!

Dragon and Sword Master: Don't worry my little neko, I'd never do that to you. Also, I created this before Ghira and Kali were introduced, so please don't tell me that Blake's mother's name is Kali and alive. This is fanfiction after all people. I will admit, I'm a little nervous about posting this so hopefully it is received well.

* * *

 _I Want to Live_

Blake stood in front of the gravestone hidden within the Forever Fall Forest, a location that not even Adam knew about. Hell, not even her own teammates knew about it…that's how off the beaten path it was. _It's all my fault…I can never see **her** again..._ she thought somberly while she made herself here, none of her footsteps causing the leaves to crinkle in her wake. Setting up a soft smile as she placed a delicate hand on the gravestone…the words "Garnet Belladonna" barely being readable.

"H-hello mother…" she started to say softly before blinking back tears. This always happened when she visited her mother's grave, the tears. Then again when she was the victim of the humans…she shook her head at that. Blake had made peace with her mother's death years ago. "I…I don't know what to do…I screwed up so badly…and…and the person I love…she…she got hurt. All because of me…" she said softly as tears continued falling down and mixing with the leaves, creating spots as if they were touched by the morning dew…

 _In a grave of roses, while the night is closing in  
My soul is so cold, but I want to live again_

Sliding down to sit beside the grave, she reached up and took the bow off of her ears, letting her cat ears breathe in the night air. Replaying the events of what happened a few nights ago, she wanted to desperately think she could have done something to save her partner…but no matter how many times she turned it over in her mind's eye, nothing came to her.

"Mother…wh-at…what do I do?" she asked softly, not getting a response from the stone marker that signified her mother's remains. Closing her eyes, she went over the battle again. If only it wasn't Yang…she quickly shook her at that thought; it shouldn't have been anyone in that position. "I can't fight Adam…" she muttered out before shivering lightly, the cold of the dark finally starting to affect her frail self.

 _'Maybe I should just let it end…Yang probably hates me for running, again. Weiss probably hates all Faunus again after the attack. And Ruby…her innocence is gone. It has to be…'_ she thought before letting the darkness take her back. To let her join with her mother and father and see them once again…

"Is that really it Kitty? One injury from your ex-boyfriend and what? You think I'm done? Out of the game? Doubt it. But…I may have to use one of your nine lives to do it," a voice whispered into her ear, causing Blake to open her eyes, startled. The amber beauties started searching the dark for any hint of her partner…the person she had a crush on. But there was no one there.

"Yang…?" she whispered softly, looking around frantically for the blonde. Seeing no one there, Blake scowled at her surroundings. "Stupid wind," she muttered before getting up and climbing the nearest tree she could find before closing her eyes and going to sleep. Whatever that voice was…had convinced her that committing suicide by Grimm wasn't the answer, at least not tonight.

And while it was still dangerous to sleep out in the wild by one's self, there was a low chance of the Grimm that populated this forest to reach the branches that Blake chose for her resting place.

 _I know you'll come to me, I wait in misery  
I want to fight for this, save me from this darkness  
I reach for the light_

 _I want to live my life_

Unbeknownst to Blake, two people were looking for her; one for benign purposes, the other for malevolent. Ruby Rose, with her new team of Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie, had heard rumors about a cat faunus being seen around the forests. The rumors also said that the girl was wearing a black bow, and there was only one cat faunus that all four members knew that was like that…

"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't get your hopes up, that's all Ruby," Jaune said, being the voice of reason. But Ruby wasn't deterred, wanting to check all the same. "Are you sure Blake even wants to be found? I mean…she did run after all."

"I don't care. Blake had to have a reason! And besides, Yang will be happy to hear that she's safe. It might even break her out of her depression," Ruby declared as the blonde-haired male just shook his head lightly at that. "Come on Jaune…please? For me?" she asked, causing Jaune to sigh and nod.

"Alright…I guess we can look for her."

"Thanks Jaune, you're the best!"

~!~!~!~!~!~

A young member of the White Fang rushed into his leader's tent, breathless. Once catching his breath, he peered up…straight into Adam Taurus's weapon. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you where you stand, cadet" the red-haired male stated, his visor making it look like he was staring into the young faunus's soul.

"I-it c-concerns the traitor, S-S-sir," he stated, letting a small breath out as Adam pulled his weapon away from the dog faunus.

"Speak." He ordered, causing the pup to gulp lightly before nodding.

"Yes sir. Two days ago, one of our spies saw a cat faunus heading into the Forever Fall Forest. They followed at a distance for a few minutes before coming to a clearing with a rock in the middle of it."

 _'The same one that she met me at before the train heist'_ he thought before realizing that the canine was still speaking. "Repeat that. After the rock."

"O-our spy followed her behind the clearing for a little longer before the traitor took to the trees. Not being confident in his tree hopping skills enough to follow, he returned and reported to his superiors who told me. And now I'm telling you sir," he said, the canine hoping that was reason enough to be allowed to keep his life, which it did.

"I see…Gather a small group of our elites and tell them to meet up with me at first light tomorrow. I have a stray to find and bring home. Now go; I need to prepare for tomorrow," he ordered, allowing the dog faunus to leave with his life. Once he left, he let a scowl adorn his features.

"Blake…" he growled out.

 _The choice is mine, I've made up my mind  
Now, I'm free to start again_

Blake slowly woke up, blinking the sleep away from her eyes. _'What time is it…?'_ she wondered before looking at her scroll. Seeing that it was early in the morning, Blake was surprised that she had passed the night without any incidents. Climbing down from the tree she was sleeping on, she greeted her mother with a good morning. After that, she went through her stretches, wondering what to do next, or where she could go.

However, before she could decide on what to do next, her ears picked up her name being called by someone she thought she wouldn't see again. "Ruby?" she muttered, wondering what her leader…ex-leader, was doing here.

"Blake! We promise not to hurt you!" Ruby yelled out, calling for her teammate.

This was the moment of truth. Did she want to continue running away from more of her past, the good part of it? Or did she want to finally be found? It had been a few months after all… Sighing lightly at that, she decided to make up her mind and headed towards where she heard the voice of her leader.

If she was going to be part of society again…then she wanted to be with someone that wouldn't kill her at first glance. Sighing softly, she made her way towards her ex-leader, just having a feeling that Ruby was going to ask her why she ran after the fall of Beacon...

 _The way I want to live (to live) and breathe (and breathe)  
The way I want that's right for me  
I may not know nothing else  
But I know this, I want to live  
_

"Ruby, it's not working. She isn't here," Ren said calmly while keeping an eye out for their friend. When Blake left…it hurt everyone, especially Ruby's sister.

"I know that she's here! I trust the rumors," Ruby said stubbornly while keeping an eye out on their surroundings. "But…just one more hour. Please? Then we can go back to the original mission," she stated, before getting a nod from the man. He knew what it was like when they found Jaune…and how heartbroken he was when he told them that Pyrrha was dead. That same look in his eyes was mirrored in the blonde female's eyes when she was told that Blake had left them.

Just as Ruby was about to ask Jaune what the next town was on their way to Mistral was, she thought that she saw a glimpse of black within the foliage. Looking again, she was shocked to see the black-clad female standing on one of the branches. "Hi Ruby…" she said, doing her best to hold back the light sigh that came from her.

"Blake! We found you!" Ruby said gleefully. "Yang will be happy to hear…"

"Can you not tell her? Please?" Blake asked, anguish in her voice at the request, scared that Ruby would call her ex-partner…she didn't deserve to talk to Yang.

"Why not? She'll be happy to hear from you!" Ruby commented.

"Ruby. There was a reason why your sister decided to stay home in Patch when we met up with you. She might be happy to hear from Blake but on the other hand, she might not be," Ren commented.

"Yeah, Yangie might want to break her legs for abandoning you guys!" Nora commented.

"Nora!" Jaune shouted. "Yang isn't like that," he quickly added as he watched Ruby and Blake talking for a few moments. He assumed Ruby was asking Blake what had happened in the last couple of months, why she had run, things of that nature. Whatever the case may be, he learned long ago thanks to his sisters that barging in on a conversation between two girls was a BAD idea.

"You could still have told us what you were doing Blake. We would be disappointed by it, but we would have tried to understand…" Ruby commented, a light frown on her face as she said it. "With you going missing, Weiss being flown back to her manor in Atlas…Yang broke down, especially after…well…you know," she added.

"Ruby…she wouldn't want to talk to me. Not after everything I did…" Blake whispered softly, thinking that the younger sister of her crush hadn't heard, but quickly found out that that wasn't true whatsoever.

"That isn't true! She might be disappointed and angry at you for a little bit thanks to what happened, but not want to talk to you? That's the last thing Yang would do," Ruby responded truthfully. She was a little disappointed that Blake thought something like that.

"But it is Ruby! Because of me, Yang lost an arm! Because of me…Adam is going to try hunting for you, Weiss…Yang," she said softly, not wanting to go through the devastation of what that would entail. "Honestly…it's better if I stay away from you and the others," she admitted.

"You're leaving...again?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby...my presence here threatens you and the others here. It threatens Weiss wherever she is. It threatens... _her_ back at your home. I can't do that to you. Or the others."

"But...I've gotten stronger! I'm sure Weiss and Yang have as well! And there's Jaune! He's gotten better...I think"

"And you think Adam hasn't Ruby? He swore to make my life a living hell, using the people I love against me. I'm not going to let that happen," Blake stated vehemently.

"What if I could prove it to you? Prove that I've gotten stronger? I've never beaten you in spars Blake…what if I could do that then? Would you stay?" she asked/begged.

"Ruby, Adam trained me. If you could beat me, which is what I'm assuming you're suggesting, doesn't mean you can take care of yourself against him," Blake said before hopping to a branch that was further away and turning back towards Ruby and her new team. "And so help me if you try using Yang against me, Ruby Rose," she added, not knowing if the ex-leader of Team RWBY was that desperate or not. "Please don't try finding me again, even if it is for your sister," Blake stated before finally leaving. The cat Faunus hated what she was doing, but knew that it was for a good cause: even if the three remaining members of Team RWBY hated her, then they were alive to hate her. And if they were alive…that meant everything to her.

 _All I ever needed was a reason to believe  
You help me hold on, you ignite the fire in me  
You always come for me, you know just what I need  
Don't make me wait for this, save me from this darkness  
I reach for the light_

Ruby stared at the spot where she saw Blake last, not wanting to believe what just happened. Angrily, she tapped into her Semblance before speeding off after the cat Faunus of Team RWBY.

Once in her sight, she raced up the tree and grabbed a branch before swinging herself upwards. "You want to protect us Blake? What about you? How can we help you if keep distancing yourself from us?!" Ruby asked as tears were starting to run down her face. "You promised...You promised...never to do that to us again after we all found out that you were a Faunus!" She shouted before catching her breath and reigning her anger back in. "How can any of us ever trust you again if you keep breaking your word…?" she asked softly.

This annoyed Blake greatly as she glared at Ruby for saying such a thing. "You take that back," Blake hissed. After the team had found out about her being a Faunus and an ex-member of the White Fang, she had worked hard to regain each member's trust once again. And now it seemed like it was only Ruby who still trusted her after all this time.

"And if I don't? What then 'Blake-y'?" Ruby asked, hoping that one of Yang's old nicknames for her would get under her skin.

"Don't call me that," Blake said, her voice almost unable to be heard by Ruby. There was only one person who could get away with calling her that name, and she wasn't there.

"Why not 'Blake-y?' You let sis do it all the time," Ruby commented as Blake's hand slowly clenched into a fist. Ruby inwardly smirked at that, glad to know she was getting under her ex-teammate's skin. She didn't like doing this, not by a long shot, but if it was to get Blake out of whatever funk she was in so be it. Ruby waited patiently for an answer.

"I'm warning you Ruby. Don't call me that. Only one person gets to call me that and she isn't here. Only warning," Blake said, hoping that Ruby wouldn't call her bluff.

"Well then, if I can't call you 'Blake-y' what about 'Kitten' hm?" she asked before feeling a speck of wind crossing her face and a bullet hole form in the tree behind her. Ruby forced herself not to grab Crescent Rose and retaliate since it was only a warning shot. "So that's it huh? Months we live together and you're shooting at me for calling you the same pet names that my sister does. Is it because you're in love with Yang that you allow her to do it and not me?" she commented as another warning shot hit the tree, this time underneath her left armpit.

"Stop. Just stop talking," Blake said, Gambol Shroud out in its pistol formation.

"Or what? Next time you won't miss?"

"Next time she won't miss. Isn't that right my darling?" Adam asked, his hand held to Wilt and Blush waiting to see what Blake would do. And if she didn't shoot the human, then he would. Unfortunately for him, the members of the White Fang that he brought with him were currently fighting the other humans that they passed, allowing him to be alone with his beauty.

 _I want to live my life  
The choice is mine, I've made up my mind  
Now, I'm free to start again_

"Nora, Thunder wave!" Jaune shouted as he blocked gunfire from one of the members of the White Fang that were attacking them. This was definitely going to be interesting since it was the first time they've encountered these foes. Nora nodded as she quickly channeled her semblance into her new hammer before jumping skyward. Once in position, she twirled in the air before hitting Jaune's shield with the stored energy, releasing it in one go as the army of Faunus were shocked by the energy.

"Four down…" he muttered before seeing the countless members of the White Fang in their midst. "Jeez, whoever planned this, have they heard of overkill?" he asked before heading over to help Ren. Shield bashing the opponent that was about to come up and hit him from behind, Ren quickly thanked Jaune before summoning his Aura to protect both him and his ex-team leader from a hailstorm of bullets.

"Any ideas?" Ren asked.

"Death Blossom?"

"…You really need to come up with a better name for that," Ren commented before refilling StormFlower with a fresh clip of bullets before backflipping onto Jaune's shield. Jaune would have said something about it, but he had to quickly use his own Aura to launch Ren high into the air. Once he reached the peak and started falling, Ren placed his finger on the trigger and started firing. The 'ninja' of the team knew that Jaune would be out of the firing range and that Nora was dealing with her own members of the White Fang that were out of the blast radius. Once landing, Ren felt his Aura take a hit and he grunted as one of the masked wearing Faunus took a free shot at him. However, Ren quickly retaliated and shot the dog Faunus, or what he assumed was a dog Faunus, in the middle of his mask.

~!~!~!~!~!~

"Truce?" Ruby asked as she jumped towards Blake's branch in a light gamble. She didn't think that Blake would actually shoot her, but from what Yang had said about the man who cut her arm off…this was him. And he wasn't one to take lightly.

"Truce, but after this I'm not joining you or the others."

"We'll see. As Yang would say, 'talk later, fight now'!" Ruby responded before shifting her weapon to its new Shotgun mode. She remembered what Yang had said as well: that he could absorb Dust into his blade before sending it back at twice the power.

"…Fine." The cat Faunus said before preparing herself to go after Adam. Swinging her blade, she cut the tree branch that Adam was standing on. Unfortunately for the cat Faunus, Adam jumped away from the branch and onto another though he wasn't prepared for the shock to his system as he was hit from behind with an electrical Dust bullet. However, before he could counter with Blush, his gun sheathe, the human had already moved out of the way.

 _'This is getting me nowhere,'_ he thought to himself before firing two shots from his rifle, one in the direction of Blake, and one in the direction of the human. Using that as a distraction, he leapt from branch to branch before his feet touched the ground. Once there, he quickly fired into the trees blindly. If he didn't hit either of them, then he could at least force them to come to him by burning their cover. That, and he had read that the human was a sniper.

Ruby and Blake saw that he was firing blindly into their cover. While they knew that their Auras could most likely take the brunt of the damage for them…they also knew that it would only be a matter of time before that resource was consumed.

Deciding that the better course of action was to follow Adam to the ground, both Ruby and Blake jumped from branch to branch before hitting the ground. As soon as they did so, Ruby rolled to the side as Adam's blade hit the ground where she stood just moments ago. Catching Blake's Gambol Shroud, he pulled the ribbon attached to the blade, pulling his beloved off balanced. It wasn't too much to pull her to him unfortunately, but it was enough that he was able to get a glancing blow. He hated hearing the sound of agony that she was in, but it was her own fault. At least, that's how he justified it anyways.

Turning around, he quickly used his sword to block Ruby's scythe before thrusting Blush into the human's chest before pulling the trigger. Unfortunately for Adam, the girl's Aura took the hit, but since it was a lethal shot…the girl would definitely be feeling that right now. And if she wasn't feeling it, then she would be dangerously low on her Aura and not be much of a threat.

"Ruby!" Blake shouted before making her way towards her ex-leader, using her shadows to get to her quickly. "Are you alright?" she asked, concerned. Adam had already injured one person from her former team, she wasn't going to let him take another team member away from her. Not if she could help it.

"Beloved…why do you protect her? Is it because she has ties to your past? I know that she isn't your lover…so why?" he asked, genuinely curious. He was still going to kill the girl Blake was protecting, just like he had attacked her partner back at the Vytal Tournament and the fall out of when Beacon had fallen.

"I told you before Adam, I don't believe in your way of thinking when it comes to equality between humankind and Faunus. You are trying to make humans respect us through fear! Instead of peaceful protesting…"

"And how was that working Blake? None whatsoever! We would have died seeing our children still beaten in the streets, enslaved or worst. We cannot trust them my beloved," Adam said before Blake growled lightly at that as her Aura exploded in anger.

"I am NOT your Beloved! Not anymore! So stop calling me that!" Blake yelled before channeling her anger into a blade of pure Aura and letting it wrap about the blade of Gambol Shroud. She wanted to use it like she had against Roman Torchwick but knew what the end result of that would be…

"So you want to live being their pet?! The Faunus that everyone in your team takes pity on?" Adam asked, trying to anger her enough so that she could get sloppy and just rush into an attack. That was why he had stabbed Blake back then; he knew that while it wouldn't be lethal, it would still get Blake's partner to run off the handle and just attack.

"That's not it either Adam," she said while doing her best to keep calm. She knew what he was trying to do, and she wasn't going to fall for it. She quickly summoned a shadow to take the shot from Blush, creating another one to take on anything that he could do while trying to help Ruby get back on her feet.

"Then what is it Blake? Tell me in a way that I can understand!" he shouted before pouring a light amount of his Aura into his blade. And while it wouldn't be as powerful as if it was someone else, he could still activate his Semblance if he so chose to do so.

"Is it that hard to understand that I want to live my life in a way of my choosing? Not shackled down by you or the White Fang?" Blake asked, hoping that she was getting through to her old partner and ex-boyfriend. Not only getting through him, but to Ruby as well. She didn't want to be pitied…it was why she ran in the first place the last time.

 _The way I want to live (to live) and breathe (and breathe)  
The way I want that's right for me  
I may not know nothing else  
But I know this, I want to live_

 _'I can't run…not this time. He wants to kill Ruby! And if I let that happen, Yang would never find it in her heart to forgive me…wait, why am I even thinking that? She probably already hates me for running off for no reason,'_ she thought to herself before her amber eyes widened as he channeled his Aura into Wilt. ' _He's planning to unleash Moonslice with his own Aura? But…why?'_ she thought before bringing her second hand onto the handle of Gambol Shroud, the purple energy still surrounding the blade as she stood in front of Ruby.

The thing with his Semblance was that while he could use his own Aura to empower it, it would be much weaker. Plus…what she was planning to use as a counter hadn't been tested yet. True she was able to use this during the Paladin, but that was with the help of Weiss's Haste Glyph. This time she was attempting to use that on her own.

"So…you want to live life on your own? Away from the White Fang, away from me?" Adam asked softly, knowing that Blake heard his question anyways. It would be her answer that determined whether he continue this fight or not. If she wanted to continue living by herself, in this fantasy of hers…

"Why is that such a hard thing for me to do?! I told you several times that I never believed in this new view of violence that the White Fang embraced, that **_you_** embraced fully! I may not deserve going back to the people that love me, the _humans_ that took me in" _'Yang'_ she thought for half a second before discarding it. "But I'm not going back to the White Fang, Adam. You're going to have to kill me first!" she shouted as she stayed in front of Ruby, being a shield for her ex-leader. She owed Ruby that much at least; she also owed Yang that much as well.

Adam scowled after hearing that coming from his beloved, knowing that there was now no chance of redeeming her. She was truly on the side of the humans now and no matter what he said, there would be no redemption for Blake, his beloved.

He really would have to kill everything she loved first before killing her then...

"If that is how it is, then so be it," he stated, doing his best right then and there to kill off his heart and firing a shot from Blush. Blake countered by shooting the bullet out of the air with one of her own. However, she had to power down from the attack to do so…which Adam was hoping for. After the purple glow died down, he quickly dashed forward aiming to kill both his beloved and one of the people that turned her against him.

Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, a white shield with gold accents appeared in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere. Behind it was a blonde-haired human that was…glowing white? Jumping back, he saw that the shield of this human had absorbed his Semblance. Assuming that this boy's Semblance was similar to his…he quickly jumped back.

"Whoo…just made it. Though I don't think I'll ever be doing that again…" Jaune commented after shaking his head lightly. The three of them had just got to the area when they saw the red-headed male charging something up. Thinking quickly, Jaune asked Nora to throw him…something that he would never request from her again.

As his danger sense went off, he rolled to the left, just missing getting turned into paste by a hammer.

Standing back up, he noticed two humans: one a male wearing different layers of green and a red-headed female wearing a lot of pink, now realizing that this had just gotten a lot harder for him. One human who could absorb his Semblance, Blake, and the two unknown humans behind him. There was also that girl Blake was protecting from her old team, but he knew that she wouldn't be a threat since he had pretty much killed her…if it wasn't for her Aura that was.  
 _  
I'm breathing, still breathing  
But I can't fight this fear alone  
This feeling is killing slow  
But now I know_

"Okay…what now?" Jaune muttered to himself as both his shield and sword were glowing a pale red…something that they've never done before. He'd ponder about it later, but right now he had two friends to protect. _'Though this guy seems to be on a totally different level…'_ he thought before charging into the fray, shield bashing their opponent from behind. Jaune's eyes widened lightly as his shield lost its glow but in place of that Adam was sent into a tree with a high impact of force.

"What the hell Jaune?" Blake asked.

"I have no idea! Somehow I was able to absorb that guy's attack and then Crocea Mors started glowing red!" Jaune replied. "Hell, my sword is still glowing," he commented, still having no idea what was going on.

"Then keep on defense Jaune, but don't attack him. He's definitely out of your league. He might even be out of Nora and Ren's league as well," Blake commented as she looked behind her, seeing Ruby starting to stir. "Ruby, you okay?" she asked.

"No…not really" she moaned out before slowly getting back to her feet. "But I can still fight."

"Ruby…you took a shot to the chest at point blank range and the only reason you're alive is because his semblance is only for his sword. You're too low on Aura," Blake replied, worried for her ex-leader. "And you're lucky he doesn't know how to use his semblance when firing projectiles, otherwise you'd be dead right now."

"But he doesn't from what you're saying, and I'm not. I can still fight Blake," Ruby replied. "Check your scroll if you don't believe me. We should still be connected as teammates." She said before hearing a grenade going off in the distance, knowing that it was Nora. "Please Blake, we don't have much time here. I can fight! You can berate me later!"

"…Alright, fine! But you four can't take him. Distract him as best as you can, but do NOT be a hero, you understand me Ruby Rose? I have Yang's arm on my conscience already. I don't want your life being on it as well," Blake growled out before getting a nod from the crimson speedster before she sped off into battle. Shaking her head, Blake extended Gambol Shroud back into its sword form before gathering her Aura once again for the attack that would hopefully kill Adam Taurus.

 _I want to live my life  
The choice is mine, I've made up my mind  
Now, I'm free to start again_

Ruby rushed back into the battle, not sure as to why she was feeling so rejuvenated but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not yet anyways. However, what she didn't realize is that her eyes were glowing silver…just a little. And while it wasn't something anyone noticed, the scythe that she was wielding definitely did draw attention. Knowing that her Dust Cartridges were out, she was going to have to do this the old-fashioned way: Scythe only.

"Ruby, duck!" Jaune commented as Nora shot him with her grenade launcher. Since it wasn't pure Aura/Dust that was used, not only could Adam not use it to empower Moonslice, but he didn't have time to draw his blade to grab the energy either. While Nora was distracting Adam, Ruby tapped into her Semblance before going into a spiral, aiming to get back at Adam for what he did to her sister.

Adam saw this coming and jumped out of the way, but Ruby expected this and moved after him, not realizing that she was kicking up a little dust at the same time obscuring them from view. Course this helped and hindered everyone involved: Helped so that no one could be targeted and help Adam get away from the fight so that he could set things up, but it also hindered them since they couldn't help Ruby attack him with potshots. It also helped Blake as she was concentrating heavily on sending her Aura to her weapon.

Once that was done, she noticed that Ruby of all people was keeping Adam occupied, causing her amber eyes to widen in surprise. _'That idiot, I told her not to play hero!'_ she thought, adding something to her mental list of things to berate Ruby for once this was over with. However, she also knew what she was going to do when all of this was over with: she was done with running. And maybe…just maybe, she could patch things up with Yang. Maybe. Now all she had to do was wait for Ruby to move.

"Stay still!" Adam growled out as he tried shooting at her blindly. However, the girl was too fast for him to hit with either Wilt or Blush and it was starting to annoy him.

"Not gonna happen!" Ruby shouted as she blocked his sword and then his sheathe, doing her best to keep him off balance with her speed semblance. Though it was starting to get to her as she hadn't kept up a sustained burst like this ever and was starting to get dizzy. She didn't know that Blake had already readied her attack and was just waiting for her to move out of the way.

"Ruby, move!" Blake shouted, finding it harder and harder to keep the energy contained.

Ruby heard Blake and ducked underneath a slash before rolling away, trying to activate her semblance but finding that it wasn't coming to her like it would usually do. She had been using it for so long that it had, temporarily, shorted out on her. After that, Blake swung her blade and let the purple energy fly. Once she saw that it hit, she smirked lightly…but kept her guard up just in case. Adam was the one who taught her to never let her guard down until you could see the body.

Blake could feel she was low on Aura but stayed vigilant as the smoke started to clear. Ruby, Nora and Ren were in the same boat, each holding their respective weapon as if it was their last line of defense…and to some, it honestly was.

"No…that's impossible," Blake breathed out, shocked to see that Adam was slowly starting to get up, though he was using his sword as a crutch. Not only that, but he was having several cuts and bruises. He was also losing a lot of blood…

"H-how…" Blake asked, wondering just how someone could survive an attack like that. It should have been impossible; he should have been dead!

"Bec…ause de-ep down…you still want me…to live…" he breathed out with one hand on his sword and the other on his side where one of the greater cuts were. However, he was unable to do or say anything else before Wilt broke and he fell to the ground as blood pooled from his body and seeped into the ground.

 _The way I want to live (to live) and breathe (and breathe)  
The way I want that's right for me  
I may not know nothing else  
But I know this, I want to live  
I want to live  
I know this, I want to live  
_

Blake couldn't stand…not only was she low on Aura but she had just killed Adam, the person that took her in, trained her and the one that she betrayed in the end. Though, he did have it coming, especially with how dark and evil he was becoming…and it seemed like it only got worse when she left. Closing her eyes, she felt the ground come up to greet her.

"Blake!" Ruby and Jaune shouted as both ran towards the raven-haired cat Faunus. Quickly checking to make sure that she was okay, Ruby sighed lightly as she realized that Blake was just unconscious…for now.

"Jaune…do you think you can carry her? I think there was a hospital a few miles back," Ruby asked as Jaune just nodded and picked Blake up, surprised that she was lighter than she let on. Putting her on her back and making her as comfortable as possible, Jaune motioned for her to lead the way.

~*~ _Thirty Minutes Later~*~_

Luckily for Team RNJR, they had met no Grimm while walking through the forest and made it to the town. And while it didn't have a hospital, it did have an Inn which had a Medic on staff. "Your friend should be fine by morning. If you want, you're welcome to stay here for the night," the maiden said.

"How much would two rooms cost? And our friend's healing?" Ren asked since he was the one who controlled the Lien that they had as a group. Out of the four of them, he was the only one who could be trusted not to spend all of it in one place.

"Well…you four are Hunters and Huntresses, correct?" She asked, getting a nod from them. "Then no charge. You're doing the world a favor by protecting us from the Grimm. That's payment enough."

"But…" Jaune started to say something before the Matron shook her head at that, saying that there was no way he, or any of them for that matter, would change her mind.

"If you are sure, then thank you," Ren said truthfully, inserting himself into the conversation and quickly ending it. It would do no good to argue with a woman who has made up her mind after all; it was like talking to a brick wall. And he of all people would know what that was like, especially when he lived with Nora all of his life.

"You're welcome Hunters. And with that being said, I wish you all a good night," the Matron said as she left the four to their own business.

"So gang, how are we splitting the rooms tonight? Lancaster and Renora or boys and girls?" Ruby asked.

"I vote Renora!" Nora shouted, causing Jaune to roll his eyes lightly at that, commenting that she would want to be in the same room as her boyfriend. And while he didn't mind the name that Ruby came up with for the two of them, he still loved Pyrrha, even after her death.

"Anyone else?" Ruby asked, making note of Nora wanting pairings while Jaune wanted it split by gender. She honestly didn't care either one way or the other so it was usually Ren who had the deciding vote on who was sleeping with whom. (Get your head out of the gutters people, nothing's going on)

"I would not mind rooming with Nora again like I did in the past," Ren stated, "Just as long as she remembers to use her indoor voice while here," he quickly added as Nora was about to exclaim in pure happiness but turned into a light pout instead. But she could behave if it meant sleeping in the same room as Ren.

"Alright then, Lancaster and Renora it is," Ruby said with a nod as she gave Ren one key and kept the other key. In the morning, she would check in on Blake and hope that she hadn't run away…again. But that was a problem for tomorrow, not today. And even with food in her belly, Ruby was feeling sleepy. "And with that…I'm going to bed. Jaune, will you be going to sleep also or do you want the key?" she asked.

"I'll take the key and join you later. There's…something I have to do," Jaune said to which Ruby nodded, especially since she knew what he was doing and probably where he was going.

"Just keep your scroll on you and call if you run into a Grimm invasion or anything," Ruby responded before getting a nod from Jaune. After that, Jaune left the hotel as Ruby went up their room. Both Ren and Nora also went up to their room as they quickly fell asleep, just as fast as the crimson speedster did.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~ _The Next Day_ ~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Ruby had gotten up early and for once had slept through the night without any of the weird nightmares that had been plaguing her ever since they left Beacon and she was starting to get worried about it. She thought that it was because of the weird new power that she developed recently…and something that she still didn't have under control. Quietly getting up so as to not disturb Jaune, she made her way out of the room and down the stairs into the main lobby area. Once there, she scanned the room, using the low amount of light given to her, Ruby used it in order to determine where the medic bay area was and slowly made her ways towards it. Once there, she knocked quietly on the door in order to see if Blake had awakened just yet or not.

"Miss Huntress?" someone asked, causing Ruby to turn her head towards whoever said her name, seeing the Matron coming down the stairs, Ruby quickly apologized if she had woken her up. "No, no, not at all my dear. I usually wake up at this time to get breakfast ready for my guests. You wanted to see your friend, correct?" she asked getting a nod from the young Ruby Rose. As such, the young woman pulled out a set of keys. Getting a questioning look from Ruby, she explained that a lot of people liked stealing the drugs and that this was the best remedy to put a stop to it. Nodding at that, Ruby stepped aside so that she could put the correct key into the lock and unlocked it as Ruby pushed the door open to see Blake slowly starting to wake up.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Ruby said with a grin, glad to see that Blake was awake again. However, she was still getting over the exhaustion that she taxed herself with in the battle yesterday. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I jumped off a bullhead and forgot to use my landing strategy," Blake whispered before requesting some water. Ruby quickly got it for the feline Faunus and poured her a glass. Seeing that she was sitting up, she gave Blake the cup of water and waited until she drank the entire contents of it. Once that was complete, Blake winced lightly

"I…I finally killed Adam," she said softly, still not truly believing it.

"Yeah, you did. But you had help this time," Ruby replied, getting a reluctant nod from Blake as well. "Speaking of which…we never did finish that conversation about you heading back home to Patch, to Yang. You don't have to you know. I can just give her a letter saying that everything's fine and you'll be back soon. Or I can call her later and you can talk to her face to face," she suggested.

"Ruby…I'm not going to do any of those."

"You're not? But…"

"I'm going to Patch. You wouldn't mind being my escort to your home, would you? I think it would be nice to surprise your sister for once," she said, getting a nod from Ruby. "Also…it would be better if you also acted as referee…" she said before her cat ears drooped a little. "Yang is probably going to say a lot of mean things to me…"

"Nope"

"What do you mean 'nope'? I was the one who left her…"

"And she doesn't care why you left, all she cares about is that you _did_ leave," Ruby replied. "She'll be ecstatic to have her kitten back," she said with a smirk at seeing Blake still blushing at the pet name Yang had given her when Blake's cat ears were revealed to them for the first time.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because…I told her last night before going to bed. She was happy that we found you and actually perked up for the first time since…well, since the night Beacon fell," Ruby said, waiting for the explosion that was going to happen.

"You…did?" Blake asked, surprised.

"I did. Please don't be mad…" she whimpered.

"Ruby …" Blake growled out, causing the girl in question to wince in preparation. However, when Blake said nothing else, Ruby slowly opened her silver eyes. Seeing the soft smile on her face, Ruby looked on confused. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked, still confused.

"For still believing in me, even when I didn't believe in myself…" she said before slowly starting to get up. Ruby was quickly by her side, advising her that she shouldn't get up just yet, that not even any of her new teammates were up. "Then why are you up Ruby?" the cat Faunus asked, causing Ruby to blush lightly before muttering something.

"Ruby Rose, I am not an invalid, and I can look after myself," Blake responded while almost glaring at Ruby. Getting a quick apology from Ruby, Blake slowly got out of bed, making sure that she could put weight on her two feet. Seeing that she could she stretched lightly before realizing that Ruby was still in the room.

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay before going back to sleep," Ruby said, placing trust in Blake that she would not run away.

~!~!~!~!~ _Two Months Later~!~!~!~!~_

Blake looked backwards towards the hidden members of Team RNJR as Blake stood by the wooden cabin, nervous as all hell. The only reason she hadn't run already was because she promised Ruby that she wouldn't do such a thing, not again. Not after last time.

[Go on…knock] Ruby wrote on her scroll before sending it to Blake, knowing that if her father saw anyone of them, then she'd be in big trouble…especially since she only left a note telling Taiyang not to worry about her before leaving six months ago.

Sighing one last time, Blake raised her hand and knocked on the door, completely nervous.

"Coming," a female voice came from the other side of the door. A few seconds later, Yang stood in front of the door, wearing a pair of jeans with her symbol on the side while also wearing a yellow undershirt and a grey coat over that, with her right sleeve knotted and tied off. Opening the door, she was surprised and shocked to see her teammate in front of her.

"Blake?" she whispered softly, almost not believing the fact that the one person she wanted to see was standing right in front of her. "Th-this…it's not a dream…is it?" she asked softly, her voice also having a slight touch of fear to it, as if she was going to wake up any second...

"You're not dreaming Yang. I'm here," Blake responded, still nervous about what her reaction would be. A few seconds later, Blake was pulled into a one-arm hug, surprising the cat Faunus immensely. Out of all the reactions Blake thought that Yang would do, receiving a hug was on the low spectrum of them.

"H-how?" Yang asked.

"How did I know where you live?" Blake asked, receiving a nod in response. "Your sister ran into me…and convinced me that I was being stupid," she admitted which got a laugh out of Yang.

"That does sound like something Rubes would do. Where is she anyways? Dad wants to find her but…" at this, Yang looked towards her missing arm. Blake looked down at it as well and frowned. It was her fault she was like this…

"Yang…I'm sorry…" she started saying before a light growl came from the brawler.

"You have nothing to apologize for Kitten, promise. It wasn't your fault he came after you" Yang stated as she put her only hand on Blake's shoulder. "He may have said things to make you think that it was your fault, but it was **his** actions that caused me to fly towards you. It was **him** that decided to attack me. Not you."

"But…"

"Nope! No buts about it. It was my stupid fault for going in without realizing what he could do. And it was his fault for attacking you and me. Now then…do you want to come in? I know it's not much, but it is home…" she asked hopefully, still believing that this was a dream and that she was about to wake up.

Blake looked backwards for a few seconds hoping to see Ruby; however, the crimson speedster with the silver eyes had already taken her leave. Blake had a feeling that Ruby didn't want to interrupt this reunion…even if she wanted her support.

"Blake?" Yang called, breaking her out of her thoughts. Turning back to the blonde brawler, Blake realized that she didn't answer Yang's question. With a light smile, she nodded and headed through the door.

~!~!~!~!~ _One Month Later, Patch~!~!~!~!~_

"I'm home!" Taiyang said, a smile on his as he looked at Yang and her best friend/girlfriend, Blake, who had her bow off. If anyone told him that his daughter would start being the same firecracker that she was before losing her right arm, he would have stared at the person for a few seconds before punching him, or her, in the jaw. The older male was surprised when he saw the black-haired female in his home, but with the letters from Ruby, and the introduction of her being Blake from Yang, he quickly deduced this was her partner and introduced himself as Yang's dad.

"Hey dad/Tai," both Yang and Blake said at the same time; Blake closing her book and getting off the couch once seeing the many packages that he held and took a few of them off of his hands.

"Thanks Blake," the blonde male said before a grin graced his features. "You'll never guess what came in today!" Tai said with excitement lacing his voice. However, he still had two bags hanging from his forearms as well as one remaining box in his arms.

"Oh?" both females asked, Blake coming back into the living room as Yang leaned up to look at him, curiosity shining in her lilac eyes.

"What is it dad?" Yang asked as he placed the two bags that were on his forearms on the kitchen table. Once that was done, he was still carrying the white box; the only box that Blake didn't take from him. On the top of the box was the symbol from the Kingdom of Atlas.

"Well…are you going to open it Yang?" Tai asked curiously.

"Wait…it's for me?"

"For you and you alone. Now go on, open it!" he suggested. Blake nodded as well; both were curious as to what was in the box.

"Alright alright, jeez. And here I thought I had to only deal with one kitty," Yang teased before getting a pout from Blake. Yang then lifted the top off the box, seeing a mechanized arm settled in purple velvet, revealing a robotic right arm. There was also a note on top of the arm, which Tai picked up and opened and silently started reading it. Once he was done, he smirked lightly at that before looking up and seeing his daughter looking at it with a wide-eyed look.

"Well I'll be…" Taiyang said with a light whistle, making sure that it didn't hurt Blake's ears. "This right here is apparently brand new, state of the art Atlas tech. And here I thought I was going to have to pull some strings or call in a few favors to get old Ironwood to have one of these made, but you earned this all on your own, kiddo." He added with a bit of pride in his voice.

"Huh?" Yang asked, unintelligently, while looking up at him causing Blake to let out a light bark of laughter…and for Yang to turn and pout at her girlfriend.

"Well, I was going to talk to the old General for you, but apparently he already had one of his top scientists working on this for you, according to this letter. He also writes that you fought admirably and should be proud of yourself," he said with a smile as she continued looking at it. She had heard what her father said but her brain hadn't processed it just yet.

"Yang?" Blake asked, concerned, wondering what was going on in her head. She knew that Yang had thought to think of herself as one-armed as being normal, so getting a new arm would have changed all of that…

"Hm?" Yang asked, finally breaking out of her reverie.

"I think your father wants to know if you're going to try it on or not. But it's your choice Yang, and I'll support you either way. Promise," Blake said encouragingly.

"Thanks Blake-y," Yang said before picking the arm up and looking it over, wondering if it was just a normal arm or if it had any secrets hidden within. Shrugging mentally, she placed it to the stump of her upper arm and found it attaching quickly to the metallic clasp that was now on her arm.

Testing it, she moved the mechanical fingers experimentally before curling it into a fist. Once she did so, a hidden compartment opened up and enveloped her fist. It was similar to her original Ember Celica…

"Holy crap!" Yang shouted out in surprise before uncurling her fingers before the weapon mode disengaged. "Okay…gonna have to tweak that somehow or keep this in a fist when I'm fighting," she muttered to herself, still in shock about the gift that General Ironwood gave her…but she was okay with that. She had everything that she wanted. Well…minus her sister.

"So…does that mean the three of us are going to start looking for the rest of our wayward family?" Taiyang asked after seeing the ecstatic look on both girl's faces.

"Not at first…I need to practice with this…" she admitted as she raised the metal arm. "And figure out exactly what it can do," she added as both Blake and Tai nodded at that before a smirk appeared on Yang's face. "And who knows…maybe it has a vibrating function…"

"YANG!" Blake shouted out, extremely embarrassed at hearing something like that uttered aloud, especially in front of her father of all people. And the blush that sprang up on Blake's face didn't help anything whatsoever.

"…not something I needed to know," he admitted with a light blush himself. While he was completely okay with whom his daughter was dating…he didn't need to know what they did behind closed doors.

It was definitely not something he needed to know…

 **END**

Dragon and Sword Master: It is my hope that everyone enjoyed this story!

Yang: I know I did… *hugs Blake* Especially since I have my Kitty with me…

Dragon and Sword Master: You're welcome. In fact, I think this should be what's happening right now…with Yang off in Remnant somewhere on the search for Blake…and dealing with Sun as her romantic rival.

Blake: *sighs* a lot of people like pairing me with him, don't they?

Dragon and Sword Master: Sadly.


End file.
